O. J. and the Criminal Justice System

The new book “If I did it” by O.J. Simpson is garnering headlines in anticipation of its release
On November 30th. An upcoming interview of Simpson on the Fox Television Network is to follow.

A number of issues have been raised regarding this book, other than the obvious is it a confession?
When Simpson was found Liable for the Death of Ron Goldman in a civil trial in 1997, eyebrows were raised, a Financial Judgment was determined, and the case slid into the back pages. With the exception of the occasional article about who Mr. Simpson was golfing with, and what Country club chose not to accept him, he stayed out of the headlines. The fact that the Victims family was deprived of the financial Judgment got little press, although it has been mentioned recently. Is Harper Collins, or its subsidiary
Regan Books going to cut Mr. Simpson’s paycheck directly the Goldman family? Probably not.

Hopefully the recent headlines will get the attention of those who are unfamiliar with the inner workings of our Criminal Justice System. The attention the system gets usually follows a case or decision where financial or social inequity is blamed for an controversial outcome. Upon close scrutiny, the fact remains that the system is not always fair. The exclusionary rule in this country is what often frees both the innocent and the guilty, when the Justice system fails to act within guaranteed rights or case Law as determined within Federal Circuit Court Jurisdictions. The system does a great job in protecting suspect’s rights, but how high will the civil court system jump to get the Goldman family their Judgment.

The point the public needs to remember is that in dealing with the Criminal Justice System in this country we always get the system, but we don’t always get the Justice.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/US/OJ/simpson.civil.trial/index.html

Military Leaders on Capital Hill

The news today from Capital Hill that our Nations Military Leadership opposes
A timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq sends a cold bucket of water into the faces of our newly emboldened Democratic Leadership. Nancy Pelosi and Carl Levin should have waited a few days before
Proclaiming their quick fix to Iraq plan – and its withdrawal timetable idea. (“Phased redeployment” in Democrat-speak.) It will be politically perilous for Democrats to challenge the recommendations of our Military leadership, for fear of looking like they don’t support the troops. The propaganda that was disseminated in the media prior to the election, led one to believe that the Defense Secretary and the White House were ignoring our Military Commanders. It
Appears that this misrepresentation has helped the Democrats regain control of Congress. Now what ?

How will the Leadership handle this news? How can they keep the public convinced that they have a plan for a new Iraq policy, when they don’t have one at all? Although John Murtha is a distinguished Veteran himself, the Democrats now must see that he can not be the poster boy for their policy, when his views now position him against the opinions of the Military leadership. John Murtha’s usefulness to the party now must be reviewed, his 15 minutes of fame gone, he should be packed away and sent home until another sound bite is needed.

Mid -Term Elections

Midterm Election – Change? …look again.


Yesterdays election yielded a change in control of the House of Representatives, and an as yet–to-be determined change in the composition of the Senate. What message does this election send? And what changes does it bring for the next two years? Solid ideas, were largely absent from the campaigns, replaced by sound bites and buzzwords. Last minute bumbling by Republican leaders in the last several weeks handed the Democrats a win by Default. Now that the Democrats have the house, the spotlight will be on them for action. Now what will they do? On the surface those “mandate for change” sound bites, from the new majority may put a big smile on the face of those looking for a major change in the War in Iraq. Many will be surprised, that the balance of power has shifted very little. The New House speaker has the opportunity spin headlines, appoint committee chairs, and hold hearings to nowhere. The wind may be taken from her sails when the public sees that the new house has very little effect on the Presidents decision making. Our success or failure in Iraq will Fall on the shoulders of our President, the House leaders will not get credit for any improvement the President brings to the situation in Iraq, but will instead, now have to share in the blame if the situation worsens.
This new balance of power encourages stagnation and bottleneck, with Nancy Pelosi as the mouthpiece of the legislative leadership. The Democrats in 2008 will have to run on solid ideas to be successful, a win on the coat tails of republican missteps alone, will not be enough. Should Pelosi and her party fail to effect any change, by the next Presidential election, the voters may very well blame the messenger. The Democrats need to remember, that with Bush’s term limit in 2008 the voters get a change no matter how they vote, and that means that both parties will need candidates with substance – not just
Sound bites.

Florida Police Chief Forced to Resign

This past week, it was reported that a Lakeland, Florida Police Chief (Winter Haven Police Department) was forced to resign his job over a tongue–in-cheek, memo he had distributed to his staff. (CNN November 2, 2006) The controversy began when the Chief, Paul Goward, unhappy with the physical condition of some of his officers, sent out the memo to the general membership of his Department, and in it stated “are you a Jelly Belly?” The memo then went on to mention the health benefits of proper weight control, healthy diet, and limiting the use of alcohol or tobacco. In most Law Enforcement agencies, an issue such as this, would at most, raise some eyebrows or generate a chuckle or two – but not in Lakeland. Several officers in this Department apparently, when their feelings were hurt, sent anonymous letters to their local City Manager, and the issue suddenly hit the national media. Initial reports of the incident indicated that the Chief was being judged harshly over the incident, he subsequently ended up being forced to resign.
This story cast a huge spotlight on this Police Department. I’m sure it is not the kind of media attention that its City Government anticipated. When a Municipalities Police agency garners national attention, its leaders should hope it is about that “Big Case”, the Department solved, or about how officers rescued a person from a “Burning Building”. Public officials in this City, just received a tough lesson in how small town politics, can rapidly escape the back meeting room and run straight for the hills of national attention. Municipal Managers and leaders must constantly remind themselves that their decisions must be made in the best interests of the community, and the many – not the few. Taxpayers expect a great deal from their public servants, and deservedly so, they also should expect that decisions made by their leaders are not based on anonymous complaints, or politics.